♫ I Am … I Said ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

Yesterday’s Neil Diamond song put me in the mood for yet another!

This song was both written and recorded by Neil Diamond and released in 1971, reaching #4 in both the U.S. and UK, and #2 in Canada.  According to Diamond, this song took 4 months to write …

“It was consciously an attempt on my part to express what my dreams were about, what my aspirations were about and what I was about. And without any question, it came from my sessions with the analyst.”

Turns out, Neil had tried out to play rebel comedian Lenny Bruce in a film.  The rejection evoked such intense emotions that it led him to spend some time in therapy.  Feeling that he had failed, Neil was thrown into something of an existential funk and started the song. It would take months for him to finish the song, but in the end it would become a classic.

According to Diamond …

“It was consciously an attempt on my part to express what my dreams were about, what my aspirations were about and what I was about. And without any question, it came from my sessions with the analyst.”

I Am…I Said
Neil Diamond

L.A.’s fine, the sun shines most the time
And the feeling is “lay back”
Palm trees grow and rents are low
But you know I keep thinkin’ about
Making my way back

Well I’m New York City born and raised
But nowadays
I’m lost between two shores
L.A.’s fine, but it ain’t home
New York’s home
But it ain’t mine no more

“I am”… I said
To no one there
And no one heard at all
Not even the chair

“I am”… I cried
“I am”… said I
And I am lost and I can’t
Even say why
Leavin’ me lonely still

Did you ever read about a frog
Who dreamed of bein’ a king
And then became one
Well except for the names
And a few other changes
If you talk about me
The story is the same one

But I got an emptiness deep inside
And I’ve tried
But it won’t let me go
And I’m not a man who likes to swear
But I never cared
For the sound of being alone

“I am”… I said
To no one there
And no one heard at all
Not even the chair
“I am”… I cried
“I am”… said I
And I am lost and I can’t
Even say why
“I am”… I said
“I am”… I cried
“I am”

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Neil Diamond
I Am…I Said lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

21 thoughts on “♫ I Am … I Said ♫ (Redux)”

  2. Jill, this is my favorite Neil Diamond song. I love the personal lyrics and tune. My wife has seen Neil Diamond perform twice. She is a huge fan. Keith

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  3. I love Neil and his music. You could play a song every day for a month and I would not get bored (as long as you play mainly his early stuff, before he became a target for (ab)used panties!).
    But therapy for losing a role? The man needs therapy for being a germaphobe. But at least he’s not hurting anyone but himself, I don’t think.
    (The “abused panties” line started as a typo, but I like it!)

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    • It’s looking like this is going to be Neil Diamond week! Not a month, but still … three days so far and I still have a couple in mind, so maybe a week. I don’t know whether he’s a germaphobe, but I do know he has Parkinson’s, and he’s 10 years older than I am, so it’s really surprising he’s still alive!

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      • That is not good news. But we all end up with something as we age, it seems. One of my brothers came down with ALS about 7 years ago. He was dead 4 years later. Until then he was in pretty good shape.
        The weird thing is, I have lost 5 brothers now, all from different causes, but all medical. My 3 sisters are still going strong, although I think my oldest sister (80) is getting Alzheimers and my younest sister (76) is going though something psychological. Me? I have more medical issues than any of my brothers, but somehow I keep going on, for now. They all lived lives of social responsibility, while I lived on the outskirts of society. I think that’s the secret. Stay away from stress.

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        • A good friend of mine died of ALS a few years ago … he was only in his 40s. I don’t think I ever realized what a large family you came from! You’re like me … you’re tough. Mind over matter. Sure, someday, probably in the not-too-distant future, something will get us both, but for now, I try never to give into the body!

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  4. Ah, yes, what a gem of Neil Diamond. I have a tape (yes, a tape… lol) with a collection of Neil Diamond’s best songs. This is one of them. I love to hear this one again. Thank you for sharing!

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  6. Pingback: ♫ I Am … I Said ♫ (Redux) | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

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